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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586520">At Home In This Place</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burntcactii/pseuds/Burntcactii'>Burntcactii</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Family In Any Form [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Titans (Animated Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Mal: You literally ALL have your own rooms. including Jericho, Melvin has Trust And Abandonment Issues, Melvin: and what about it, They all pile into the same bed because Melvin wants to and Mal is bad at saying no, tag for Jericho being like. unbelievably doting over the ppl he cares about, they're just SWEET and a FAMILY and THATS THE FIC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:01:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586520</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burntcactii/pseuds/Burntcactii</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>1 am. Someone was knocking on their door at 1 am. </p><p>When had it become their door and not his door?</p><p>Probably the same time that Jericho silently decided his actual room in the tower was to be an art studio to share with the kids, and his sleeping quarters were now with Herald, in his cramped little bed with an amalgam of both their belongings in random spaces through the room. </p><p>or</p><p>Melvin has a nightmare. The tots all climb into the same bed as Herald, to his chagrin.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mal Duncan/Joseph Wilson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Family In Any Form [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094630</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>At Home In This Place</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Melvin: you don't have all the facts.<br/>Herald: which are???<br/>Melvin: I'm baby<br/>Jericho: you heard her, she's baby.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Herald was </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been a day, to say the least. Titans North didn’t often see a lot of actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>dangerous</span>
  </em>
  <span> crime. That was the whole point of them being stationed where they were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jericho was </span>
  <em>
    <span>plenty capable</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that was obvious, and Mal wasn’t so bad in combat either, but the point of the tots being placed on a team with them was so that they could stay hidden and protected until they were old enough to actually help. They were three child metahumans with extraordinary powers, it was a guarantee that they were targeted by villains or heroes everywhere they went. Either as science experiments or potential sidekicks or secret weapons, they were never seen as </span>
  <em>
    <span>just children</span>
  </em>
  <span> wherever they went. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jericho and Herald made sure they had as close as could be to a real childhood, before they had to get tangled up in the good and evil meta mess the world was constantly in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They still fought, obviously. Mostly low grade bank robberies and small time wannabe villains while the tots remained out of sight and hopefully, out of mind of anyone else. Mal wouldn’t mind getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual threats</span>
  </em>
  <span> maybe, in some timeline or other, like Slade, maybe The Brain again. Instead they got Control Freak wrecking the city for...fun? Mal never actually got a grasp on what he was after. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Channel wave after channel wave after dimension hop was the entire day for him, chasing after the overgrown child and trying to cease his meddling with the city that was near their Titans Tower while Jericho tried to stop the tykes from interfering to try and help. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was getting harder and harder to wrangle in Melvin. She had a power, and she wants to help people. It was hard to turn away a request that came from a place of such determination and hopefulness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mal hit the bed immediately after the near 12 hour long escapade of fighting Control Freak. He didn’t even bother to undress, simply flopping into the bed and almost immediately falling asleep. He was woken up by the faint sound of the door whooshing open and closed just minutes later, followed by the squeaking of cushions and shifting of weight as Jericho climbed onto the bed and ran a hand through his dreads, pushing them out of the way to lay a single kiss on his head. He heard a tired, amused sigh as Jericho began clipping off his cape. Herald finally opened his eyes back up, smiling warmly and rubbing a thumb over Joseph’s cheek, humming when Joseph hid in his palm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know. Bed gets gross when I go to sleep in my uniform, I’ve heard it all before.” He griped, getting up to change into actual sleep clothes. He could feel Jericho’s pointed glare before his cape hit him in the back of the head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey- abuse!” He laughed, finishing changing and trudging back over. “God, I feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>awful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He flopped face first on the bed again, hearing a sympathetic sigh from Jericho before he felt fingers digging into his back and relieving some of the tension. He gave a muffled if appreciative moan into the bed, grappling around for Joey's hand when he was done to give it a warm squeeze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"M'luff youuu…" he mumbled with his face pressed to the pillow, making Joey shake with silent laughter. Joey wiggled under the covers himself before pouting up at Mal until he huffed out a '</span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>' and rolled onto his back, cueing Joey to lay his head on Mal's chest and throw a leg over his waist, curling as close around him as he could. Mal gave a sleepy hum, bringing his arm to wrap around Joey and lean his head down to kiss the top of his head and rub his face against the texture of soft curls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only noise in the small room was the lousy vent and the soft snoring of the blonde on top of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Urgent knocking woke him up, maybe only hours later. He glared at the ceiling before squinting at the clock next to his bed, trying to gauge the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>1 am. Someone was knocking on their door at 1 am. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When had it become </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> door and not </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> door?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Probably the same time that Jericho silently decided his </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual room</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the tower was to be an art studio to share with the kids, and his sleeping quarters were now with Herald, in his cramped little bed with an amalgam of both their belongings in random spaces through the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe if he stayed quiet, the knocking would go away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He almost fell asleep again, despite the knocking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until Jericho started haphazardly smacking the side of his face without looking up or opening his eyes. Finally, Herald grunted out a whiny “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> down in Jericho’s general direction, to which he got a huff and a point at the door and its knocking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” He said, getting comfortable again and closing his eyes. “Ya kids are knocking at your door, </span>
  <em>
    <span>honey bunches.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He was dripping with sarcasm and ego. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He jumped when Jericho jabbed him in the ribs and slapping at his face again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Kids. Yours. Sun not up.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He signed, never once moving his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your the one who crawls into </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> bed every night-” he griped, before letting out a yelp when Jericho shoved him and dumped him out of the bed all at once. The knocking got even more urgent. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Alright! </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m coming!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Herald groggily swiped open the door, rubbing his eyes before looking down at the three kids nervously staring up at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had somewhat of a staring contest for a bit until Melvin seemed to break.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Melvin started to sniffle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Woah, hey, hey-" Mal cooed, crouching down and picking her up so she could cry into his neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I didn't see you- a-all- </span>
  <em>
    <span>all da-ay</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" She warbled, sobbing into his neck. "I thought- you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>go-one!" </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Herald sighed, running his hand through her silky blonde hair. Melvin still had a lot of trust and abandonment issues. She always freaked out whenever she didn't see Jericho or Herald for any longer than maybe five hours. It's one of the reasons she's always so clingy with Jericho. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That fiasco with Raven and Mallah really scarred her. All she had was her brothers, and that was fine. Then Raven came along and made her trust in a parent figure again, but the minute Raven left Mallah showed up and…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Herald is determined never to put her in a position like that again. Where she feels like she can't trust the people that are supposed to look after her, or that she feels like </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> has to be the adult. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Melly- Melly, hey, it's okay. I'm right here." He whispered, bringing her face out from his neck so she could see him. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm not gonna leave you. I'm right here, and everything's gonna be okay. Okay?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was still heaving for breath, lip trembling and tears running down her face, but she vigorously nodded before outstretching her arms in a 'hug me' motion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hey, you’re okay, you’re okay.” Mal yawned, standing upright and letting her cling to him and cry. He looked down at the other two, Timmy nervously clutching his blanket and Teether making gurgling sounds and holding on to his brother’s leg. “And what about you two?” He asked, accusatory. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Melvin’s the one that had tha’ nightmare!” Timmy yelled, pointing at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh? So you’re fine if Melvin sleeps with us and you two go back to sleep in your room?” Herald asked, knowingly. Timmy made a nervous sound, clutching and pulling at his blanket again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on.” He sighed, moving out of the doorway just enough for Timmy to scurry past him, followed by a surprised huffing noise by Jericho, who Timmy had presumably jumped on top of at full speed. “You too.” Herald said down to Teether, who started crawling past him the same way Timmy ran. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Herald turned back to the room with Melvin still held in his arms, watching for a moment. Jericho was sat up now, still sleepy, but lovingly petting down Timmy’s unruly hair from where he was curled into Jericho’s side and almost already asleep again. He held his arms out and gave Teether an excited expression as the baby crawled faster toward him, letting out excited squeals when Jericho picked him up and rubbed their noses together sweetly before placing him next to Timmy in the bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Herald eventually made his way back over, finding some way to lie down despite the weight of Melvin clinging like a koala to his neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teether almost immediately made his way clamoring over Timmy- who let out a small whine - to get to Jericho, sitting in his lap and making the same hugging motion Melvin had made earlier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why’s he always like you so much more than me? And when did you start keeping an extra pacifier in the nightstand?” Herald asked amidst a yawn, watching Jericho pop a pacifier into Teether’s mouth, which made the baby almost immediately get droopy eyed and lean all his weight into Jericho. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>When he ate my last good guitar pick. Spit it back out at me like an arrowhead.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jericho signed sleepily with a smile, wiggling to lie down and hold Teether protectively against his chest with one arm, the other slung over Timmy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ain’t nobody loves ol’ Mal, huh?” He said, making a funny face at Teether, who faintly giggled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I dooooooo!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Melvin yelled suddenly, upset at being left out. Mal shushed her urgently as Jericho snorted at her behavior. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mal smiled with a hum and a yawn, wiggling down the same and letting Melvin get comfy, dragging his arm over her in a way she could hug it haphazardly under her chin. Herald’s reach was just far enough to give Jericho’s hand a squeeze, soothingly rubbing it with his thumb and smiling at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jericho smiled, yawning and squinting his eyes closed in the process, signing a 1, 3, then 4 with his eyes still closed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I love you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mal hummed, brushing through Melvin’s hair one last time, ruffling Timmy’s, then leaning over to pat Teether where he was snuggled close to Jericho before lying back down and immediately feeling the sleepiness seep into his bones again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Love you too.” he yawned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had no idea whatsoever how they all managed to fit in his cramped little bed whenever they all piled in like this. He tried not to look a gift horse in the mouth, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometimes Herald wondered what kept him from running back to the Nth dimension. Things were simpler there, no housemates, no annoying team members, no crime he couldn’t handle, no lack of excitement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nights like these he remembered why. The care that flooded the room was almost palpable. Herald never remembered feeling so loved and needed and </span>
  <em>
    <span>important</span>
  </em>
  <span> before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He fell asleep content, with that thought in mind. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i'm love Jericho/Herald. I wish there was more content. I absolutely adore this verse though, and have a lot of ideas for it. Also this one ended kind of weird??</p></blockquote></div></div>
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